Indian Factory Workers Wear GoPros to Train AI Robots That Could Replace Them

Indian factory workers are wearing GoPro cameras and other recording devices to capture their movements and help train AI-powered robots to perform tasks such as folding and packing textiles.

While some workers are paid to record their activities, others say they were not told that the footage would be used to train machines. The recordings could eventually help robots automate some of the tasks workers perform today, raising concerns about potential job losses.

The Human Data Behind AI Robots

Videos showing textile workers wearing head-mounted cameras went viral in India in April 2026, prompting the media to raise concerns that the recordings could help train robots to perform tasks currently carried out by humans.

India is emerging as a key location for collecting this footage because of its large population, relatively low labour costs, and openness to new technology. AI developers need extensive recordings of people performing physical tasks, known as egocentric data, to help robots learn how humans move, manipulate objects, and carry out everyday activities.

'Think of today's AIs as brains without a body,' says Prathosh A.P., a professor at the Indian Institute of Science in Bengaluru. Robots need to learn the motor skills required to perform intricate physical movements, he explains.

Some workers sign up for paid recording assignments, while others say they were not informed that footage of their work would be used to help train AI robots, according to NPR. 'Call it what it is, which is exploitation of labour,' says Astha Kapoor, co-founder of the Aapti Institute, which studies technology's impact on society.

Could Robots Make Human Workers Redundant?

The stakes are significant for India, where about 600 million people are working or seeking employment, according to NPR. Amit Basole, an economics professor at Azim Premji University, has questioned whether India is adequately prepared to retrain workers and help them move into new occupations if automation displaces them. 'Training workers, retraining workers, absorbing them into new occupations,' he says. 'Do we have the policy agility to do that? I doubt it.'

However, widespread deployment of AI robots in Indian workplaces may still be some way off. Experts cited by the outlet point to the machines' high operating costs and the expense and unreliability of electricity in parts of the country. 'We may be able to make the robots, but they're bloody expensive to run, right?' Kapoor says. 'Humans are cheaper to run than robots.'

Teaching Machines to Handle Everyday Tasks

Ravi Shankar, chief executive of Objectways, an Indian company that collects training data for AI developers, also expects robots to remain expensive to operate. He says clients are interested in automating tasks that are difficult to staff, take place in remote locations, or involve physically demanding work. The company also collects footage of domestic chores, including folding towels, putting away books, and unpacking bags.

At the company, employees record demonstrations designed to help robots learn repetitive industrial tasks. 'The robot is like a child,' says employee Rajeshkumar Ramaswamy. 'We are the humans. We are teaching the robots what needs to be done.'

Workers See Both Opportunity and Risk

For some workers, filming themselves performing everyday tasks has become a source of income, as they are paid to record activities that help train AI-powered robots. Sneha Jegadish, 24, earns about $2.60 an hour filming herself doing chores such as chopping vegetables, folding clothes, and washing dishes. 'The work we are doing now is going to be done by robots in the future,' she says.

Textile worker Kannagi Periyasaamy, 42, records herself folding and packing aprons. She is paid about $2.60 an hour for the work and says she has been told that the footage is intended to help train robots to package aprons, fold them, and carry out quality checks. She believes a robot may eventually take over her job and says she is considering farming on her family's land if that happens.

For now, Periyasaamy takes pride in teaching the machines. 'I'm proud I can teach it to do a good job,' she says. Her pride captures the tension at the heart of the work: the skills workers record today could help train robots to perform those same tasks in the future.